This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Michael Bickman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This is a special breed of horse -- it's available to us in North > America with its admirable qualities primarily because of the work > done over many years by the Norwegian and Dutch Fjord associations > and their members
I suspect that the previous 2000 years of the animal's history had something to do with it, too. Fjords had to be hardy, smart, and calm, to make it thru the long Norwegian winters---outdoors at first, then barned all winter as agriculture became more prevalent. They also had to be generalists---doing all types of work, as needed for raiding, trading, farming, etc. The control by the European registries has only been in the last 100 years or so---a relatively short portion of the animal's history. > I think we should focus on what's best for the breed. The issue for > "controls" or "rules" should be what will their effect be upon the > breed and upon our enjoyment of it? Perhaps some of the newcomers to the breed could use a tutorial in the history of Fjord politics in North America. At present, there are 6 "classes" of Fjords in North America. 1. Those registered with the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry (NFHR). 2. Those registered with the Norwegian Fjord Association of North America (NFA, or NFA-NA; despite the name, it's a US registry). 3. Those registered with the Fjord Breeder's Association (FBA). 4. Those registered with the Canadian registry. 5. Those registered with various European organizations. 6. Unregistered Fjords and Fjord-crosses. Why so many registries within the US? Because every time the "dominant" registry tried to suddenly tighten the registration requirements, some of the breeders who disagreed would "spin off" and form a new registry! NFA tried to limit the use of poorly-documented "Foundation" stock, and NFHR was formed. NFHR started to require blood-typing to document parentage, and FBA was formed. Some US breeders got so disgruntled with these splits, that they registered all of their stock in Canada (which by law can only have one registry for any single breed). Some chose not to register their stock at all, and some couldn't get together the paperwork needed to meet the new requirements. Plus, anyone in NFA or NFHR (not sure about FBA) who crossbred his Fjord ended up with a "de-registered" Fjord. > I think its inevitable there will be a growing number of Fjords in > North America which will not have the admirable qualities we desire > in Fjords, both conformational and temperamental. As non Fjord > people become exposed to them, they will color their perceptions of > the breed. Most of the non-Fjord folks are unaware where or even if a given Fjord is registered. My belief is that NFHR Fjords are currently good animals, and will probably stay that way. It's the unregistered ones that are most likely to be poor representatives of the breed. That's the main source of crossbreds (although I think the Canadian registry still permits crossbreeding?), which some people think reflects badly on the breed. And, IMHO, anyone who doesn't "bother" to register his animals probably isn't as likely to follow good breeding practices, either. I'm of the opinion that the NFHR's first priority should be to reunify the breed within the US. There is a move afoot to merge NFA back into NFHR---it's moving slowly, but still viable. Education, of both the breeders and the public, as to what is a good Fjord (as well as how to produce and market one), is also high on my list. I feel that making it harder to breed (by requiring more paperwork, or more restrictions) is merely going to push more breeders away from NFHR. Fjords are still a small breed in North America, and I do not consider further "Balkanization" to be in the best interests of the breed! > Why not combine the Canadian and U.S. registries to create a North > American registry I'm under the impression that Canadian law on livestock registries prevents that. Many years ago, before the NFHR had its evaluation system, some of the Norwegian judges would come over to our main Fjord shows (I met them at Libby). At one time, there was an interest in doing Norwegian evaluations of US stallions and mares, for possible re-admission to the Norwegian stud book. From some of the informal conversations that I eavesdropped on, I got the distinct impression that at least some of the Norwegians considered North America to be their "safety reserve". They knew we were unlikely to institute European-style licensing of stallions, so would continue to breed, hence preserve, the wide variety of types of Fjords---some of which had fallen out of fashion in Europe (we do more packing and draft work than they do). If somehow, the Europeans went down the wrong path (as happened once, with the Dolehest fiasco), there would remain a very mixed pool of Fjords over here, from which they could rebuild! As I previously posted, culling out any one trait can have unforseen genetic consequences, which may not become apparent for many generations. IMHO, it's safer NOT to funnel everyone down the same path. There will be US breeders who chose to follow the European systems. That's fine. There will be others who chose to follow their instincts. Also fine---just educate everyone (breeders and potential consumers) about the different systems and their possibilities. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
